What is the viral “It’s not clocking to you” meme? Justin Bieber’s recent paparazzi encounter explored

Justin Bieber has gone viral for his recent interaction with paparazzi. On June 12, a one-minute 24-second clip of the singer talking to paparazzi was uploaded. In the video, Bieber bashed them for following him to Little Beach House Malibu, a members-only club located in Malibu, California.

Justin Bieber was seemingly upset and accused the paparazzi of trying to provoke him by reportedly invading his privacy. The pop star also claimed the media were allegedly being paid by someone to follow him around.

"It's not clocking to you that I'm standing on business... I'm a human f*cking being standing around my car at the beach... I don't know who the f*ck is paying to provoke me, but I'm not the f*cking one, stop provoking me and sh*t. I'm a real dad, a real husband, a real man," Bieber said in the video.

The video was posted on X by the user @FearedBuck, and it had garnered nearly 200,000 likes and over 12,000 retweets at the time of writing.

According to Complex's June 18, 2025, report, "clocking" refers to "noticing," and it is particularly popular in transgender and nonbinary communities. The phrase "standing on business" has been a part of Black people's vernacular for decades.

It recently gained mainstream popularity after Drake featured it in his 2023 track, Daylight. The media outlet also reported that comedian Druski frequently used the phrase, helping it become popular.

Netizens quickly pointed out that Justin Bieber used African American Vernacular English, also known as AAVE. "It's not clocking to you that I'm standing on business," then became a meme, and X users started using the line to seemingly mock the singer.

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Justin Bieber seemingly responded to netizens and said he knows that he's "broken"

On June 16, 2025, the 31-year-old pop star released his statement, seemingly referring to his viral clip. Bieber stated that people around him keep telling him to "heal," and said that if possible, he would've done it already.

He shared that he is aware that he has "anger issues," and he is "broken." Bieber stated that he has been working on himself for years, and currently, only Jesus helps him.

Justin Bieber seemingly responded to the memes and netizens. (Image via Instagram/@justinbieber)

Before releasing his statement, Bieber uploaded screenshots of his text exchange with an anonymous friend. He slammed the person for being "mean." The singer stated that the person was allegedly telling Bieber to "suppress" his emotions.

Then Justin Bieber replied that he doesn't want to be friends with a "p**sy" and blocked the person. In the caption of the Instagram post, the pop star added the middle finger emoji.

"I will never suppress my emotions for someone. Conflict is part of relationship. If you don't like my anger you don't like me. My anger is a response to pain I have been through. Asking a traumatised person not to be traumatised is simply mean," Bieber wrote.

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In other news, Justin Bieber celebrated his first Father's Day with his nine-month-old son, Jack Blues Bieber, and his wife, Hailey Bieber.

Edited by Prem Deshpande